Interview with Koichi Tohei and Shinichi Tohei

Originally posted here: http://www.toitsu.de/texte/tohei_en.htm

Interview with Koichi Tohei and Shinichi Tohei

William Reed conducted the following interview with Master Koichi Tohei, along with his son and successor Shinichi Tohei (Waka Sensei), on May 19, 2000. The interview was conducted in Japanese, and then translated by William Reed with Tohei Sensei's approval.

Your book ''Ki no Kakuritsu'' is a personal biography of what you learned from your 3 main teachers in life. What you teach in the Ki Society today draws on what you learned, but is different from that of your teachers. What was the most important thing you learned from each of them, and how did you put them together in a brand new constellation?

My first teacher was Tetsuju Ogura, a student of the Meiji period Sword Master Tesshu Yamaoka. The training involved rigorous Misogi breathing and chanting, as well as long hours of Zen meditation. Tesshu was a man whose his entire way of life was based on the idea that once you decide to learn something, you should thoroughly test it in action. Test every theory in experience, and from experience you learn to absorb the good and reject the bad. Everything I teach today has been developed in the crucible of experience, my own and that of my students.

I studied Aikido from Morihei Ueshiba, here again doing everything first and questioning later. Ueshiba Sensei was a master of Ki, as well as the founder of Aikido. However he was also a devoted follower of the Omotokyo Religion, and this influenced the way he taught Aikido. Often it was impossible to make any sense of his esoteric explanations. I rigorously trained in all of the exercises he had us do, though many came from the Omotokyo Religion, and made no sense to us. For example, we were expected to recite the alphabet in a different order. Rather than saying the vowels of Japanese as ''AIUEO'' we were made to repeat them over and over as ''AOUEI,'' as if this new sequence had a deeper meaning. He would tell us that we should become one with the Ki of Heaven, but not how we were to do this. You could learn much more by watching him do Aikido than you could by listening to him explain it. The one essential thing I learned from Ueshiba Sensei was how to relax. He was always relaxed in the face of conflict, which is why his Aikido was so strong. He would do this himself, but he encouraged his young students to hold with as much strength as possible. In Aikido if you are not relaxed you cannot throw a person. It seemed a mystery to us that Ueshiba Sensei could always throw, could always get out of a hold. He would lead your Ki, and could always throw his opponent in the direction he was already going. I began to make rapid progress after I started copying what he did, and paid less attention to what he said. I ended up only keeping about 30% of the techniques I learned from Ueshiba Sensei, changing or dropping the rest. What I really learned from him was not technique, but the true secret of Aikido, non-dissension; not to resist your opponent's strength but to use it.

After the War I learned from Tempu Nakamura, a well-known yoga master and psychologist who taught that the mind leads the body. I had seen this often on the battlefield. When we were under fire no one complained of stomach problems; yet once we reached safe ground people began to take it easy and everyone got sick. The mental state of being careless can actually bring on illness. Nakamura Sensei's teaching that mind moves the body helped me to understand the essential principle of Aikido, which is why I called my form of the art, Aikido with Mind and Body Coordination (Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido), now popularly known in the West as Ki-Aikido. I diligently tried everything that Nakumura Sensei taught. As a result, from experience I learned that some of it worked and some of it didn't. One technique that did not work was a meditation technique he taught from Yoga called Kumbahaka. This involved tightening the anus, putting strength into the lower abdomen, softening the solar plexus, letting the shoulders drop down, holding your ears in line with your shoulders, and keeping your lips pressed against your teeth. This was actually an exaggerated and awkward way of trying to explain what natural posture was. Nakamura Sensei himself did not do this, but this is how he explained it. Many ancient oriental methods use exaggerated expressions to explain a natural state, and end up producing completely the wrong results. But I tested everything thoroughly in order to learn from experience. I found that if I did Kumbahaka while farming I would get a sore back, if I did it while walking I would become exhausted, and if I did it while doing Aikido none of the techniques would work at all! The most important thing is ''how to do,'' not how to say. By following natural principles, and doing as Nakamura Sensei did, rather than as he taught, I learned how to do it correctly and consistently. He noticed this and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was doing Kumbahaka. He knew that and wanted to know how I was doing it. I showed him that even his senior students were easily pushed over because of the tension created in their bodies by trying to follow those complicated instructions. In his later years he changed the way he explained it, but after he died his students went back to old explanation, and it is no better now than it was then.

Can you explain the process by which you took the Aikido arts and developed a system of Aiki Exercises, Health Exercises, and then more recently the Oneness Rhythm Exercise, and how all of these are related to Aikido?

After I first went to Hawaii in 1953, I went back many times to teach on each of the islands, as well as the mainland. When I returned to a dojo, I often found that people couldn't remember or agree on what I had taught them before. It seemed that many of the Aikido arts were very difficult to do, particularly when working with different partners. I then created and taught a set of Aiki Taiso, or exercises that you could do by yourself, which used the basic movements of the Aikido techniques.

This made the techniques easier to remember, particularly as I had all kinds of people coming to my classes, young and old. If you practice something long enough you will learn it. However, few people had time to devote single-mindedly to learning Aikido. It bothered me that even these exercises were not enough for people to remember it between my visits. They could do it correctly when I was there, but by the time I saw them next they had already lost it! It simply didn't stick. It then occurred to me what was missing. If the secret is that the mind moves the body, then just going through the physical motions is not enough. To solve this problem I had people try doing the same movement in each exercise twice, and amazingly this worked every time. Even beginners were able to coordinate mind and body, and be very stable when tested after doing the same movement twice. On the first movement the mind was not fully directed to the action; but on the second movement the mind and body were unified. Once lost, twice found. At my wife's urging I then developed this into an exercise routine that could be done to music, calling it the Oneness Rhythm Exercise. Though even now some of my own students misunderstand, thinking of this as a substitute exercise for people who don't practice Aikido, in fact is really a shortcut to improving your Aikido. The exercise trains you to relax and maintain proper rhythm, which is also the key to making an Aikido technique effective. This is why we require our students to learn it before testing for black belt. You needn't take anyone's word for it either. Doing a Ki test before and after you can see for yourself how well it works.

You have made many changes in the Aikido arts over time, important changes in the way throws or joint locks are done, to make them more consistent with Ki principles. Can a person who practices another style of Aikido, or even another martial art such as Judo or Karate, apply Ki principles with the techniques he has been taught?

Of course Ki principles can apply to any martial art, even to sports, dancing, or other forms of exercise. There are four basic principles: Keep One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside, Extend Ki. None of these is restricted to Aikido, and in fact all can be applied to anything you do in daily life. I taught these basic principles to baseball professional Sadaharu Oh, and he broke the world record for home runs. The basic principles of the universe apply to anything you do. The reason people get poor results is because they try to go against natural principles. If you remember the principles and apply them subconsciously, they work for you every time. However, people have the bad habit of forgetting the fundamentals as soon as they make a bit of progress. That is why you need to keep training.

You have established a system of Olympic-style competition, unique in Aikido, using the Taigi arts. What was your reason for doing this, and what are your ultimate goals for the Taigi competition?

Ueshiba Sensei taught that Aikido was based on non-dissension, and because of this he banned competition from Aikido. However, if non-dissension is wrongly interpreted it can mean running away from the problem, escaping. The real point is that, in the face of conflict the one who is truly relaxed is the strongest. In ordinary competition you pit strength against strength, and the strongest one wins. But today's winner will meet his match tomorrow. No one is invincible. True, that Aikido does not pit strength against strength, instead overcoming strength by joining with it and leading. Even so, if you never test it under competitive conditions, how do you know if you really have it or not? But ordinary competition makes it possible for people to practice under sheltered or ''fixed'' conditions, with the risk of developing bad habits that will not help you on the street, where the attacker is not playing by the same rules. The real meaning of non-dissension is to relax in the face of conflict, to respect the opponent's Ki, and to lead it to a non-harmful conclusion.

The Taigi Competition is not an opportunity to see who is stronger than whom, but rather to test, demonstrate, and perform Aikido arts, in front of an audience and judges who score according to strict criteria. The most important things we look for are Fudoshin (stability, balance), Modulation of Rhythm, and Fullness of Ki (largeness, beauty). There are dozens of additional criteria that are more specific to techniques, but these are the most important. Your habits of daily practice become very clear under the pressure of the Taigi Competition. But this is quite different from a fighting match.

If you lead a person where they want to go, they will gladly follow. If wish for their benefit, they will not resist. But if you selfishly leave others behind, of course they will resist and you will have conflict. This is the problem today, with everyone out for themselves, not caring about the consequences of their actions to others or to the environment. This is the result of a hundred years of 20th Century materialism, which placed the body before the mind. The 5 principles of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido also apply directly to the art of leading people: Ki is extending, Know your opponent's mind, Respect your opponent's Ki, Put yourself in your opponent's place, and Lead with confidence. We demonstrate this step-by-step in the way we teach every Aikido art, but it works equally well in business or sales. If company executives did this their employees would work happily and work hard. It is the same for parents and teachers. The primary purpose of Aikido is to train and develop Ki, and the Taigi Competition provides an opportunity to test and demonstrate it at a high level.

You developed a method of Ki healing called Kiatsu Therapy. How is Kiatsu different from Shiatsu and other forms of ''Oriental'' massage?

The biggest difference is in whether it is based on Ki principles or not. If you persistently do things against natural principles, you are likely to end up exhausted or sick. The greatest mistake many people make is to assume that the therapist is the one who heals the patient. Even doctors tend to forget the life force when treating a patient. It is the patient's own life energy which heals, and all the therapist does is help stimulate the flow of Ki, which is what actually heals the patient. When a person is weak and needs help, Kiatsu can help them get back on their feet. However, a person will achieve more lasting results if they take responsibility for their own mental and physical health. A large percentage of illnesses are caused or aggravated by stress. The best thing you can do for your health is to learn how to relax and develop strong Ki.

KI CONCEPTS

The trademark and central principle of the Ki Society is Ki. How would you explain Ki to a child?

Ki is a Japanese word describing the natural energy of the universe. We may experience it more directly as our life force, that which keeps us healthy and happy. In Japanese the word ''ikiteiru'' means to be alive, ''iki o shiteiru'' means to breathe, and while the character is different both contain the sound Ki. Originally the Japanese language had no writing system, and we adapted the Chinese writing system to our own language. The character for Ki is Chinese, but the original word Ki existed in Japanese before the character was adopted. When I first went to Hawaii in 1953, I asked my students if there was any equivalent word for it in English. They searched the dictionary and couldn't come up with one, so they started using the Japanese word Ki, and now everyone uses it. Kids recognize it instinctively. It is the adults who want to define it in words.

In what ways does Ki-Aikido training protect health and promote fitness?

We talk about Ki as an energy that circulates freely between our body and the universe. A person who is healthy is said to be ''genki,'' having strong Ki. If your body is cluttered with stress and tension, it will negatively affect your health. Aikido is a balanced whole-body exercise that keeps you young and fit, as well as an excellent way to develop strong Ki.

What is the biggest misunderstanding about Ki?

The biggest mistake is to think of Ki as something magic or supernatural. In fact Ki is as natural as air and water. Some people teach that they can ''use Ki'' to make people fall down without touching them, but this tends to work only on the teacher's students. I teach people to be natural, and have never taught anything else. I do demonstrations when I teach, that some people might consider out of the ordinary, such as making your body unliftable even by several strong people, or being centered so that no one can push you over. However, none of these things are supernatural, and all of my students can do them as well. It does not require an assistant who will cooperate to make the trick work. This is why I always call people out of the audience whom I have never met to do the demonstration. People who see this without understanding it might call it supernatural, but I have never promoted myself in this way.

Most people assume that if someone pushes on your body, you have no choice but to move or receive it. In fact, if you are relaxed and unified it is relatively easy to redirect the incoming force into your One Point and be stable as a rock, even with several strong men trying to push you over. The same thing happens when they receive mental pressure. They convince themselves that they are tired, and literally talk themselves into a state of exhaustion. This is only natural, because mind follows body. That is why I won't permit my students or children to use negative language. It is only asking for trouble. Young people today have the bad habit of making excuses, ''Yeah, butc'' ''I cannot.'' How can you say you cannot without first trying? If you think something is difficult, the most important thing to do is search for a solution, not to just give up. Why talk yourself into a corner? Too many people give up at the first sign of resistance.

You say that everything is made of Ki, and that when Ki circulates freely we are in a state of good health. Do objects and our possessions also have Ki in this sense?

Of course Ki circulates in everything. This is why we must treat our possessions with care. In this sense everything is alive, not just plants and animals. Things are alive and they are definitely affected by the way we treat them. We waste too much, and should take more care with what we own. Before we throw things away we should make an effort to repair them, recycle, reuse, and care for them so they last longer. A fundamental principle of the martial arts is to treat things and people with respect.

What is the secret of doing a good Kiai?

Kiai is just a word that martial artists invented for a focused shout used with a martial arts technique. Its real meaning is to extend positive Ki in whatever you do. Real Kiai can be silent, thinking positively and being mindful in your actions. Even if someone is threatening to attack you, if you extend strong Ki this sends a powerful subconscious signal that there is no place for the other to attack. If parents always think about how to help their children get better, this is also Kiai. When kids behave badly, parents should reflect on themselves. Often it means that the kids need more care, more Kiai.

You say that you have a habit of smiling when you are in trouble. You turn the tables on the opponent by a positive view of opportunity, rather than a negative view of limitations. Your way of looking at things is often opposite to the ordinary person's. How did you develop this way of thinking?

We are born into a relative world, a world of opposites. We see things in black and white, and forget the shades of gray in between. The connections between things are not always obvious. Contrary to appearances, Galileo said that the earth moves around the sun, and of course he was right. It is easy to fall into a way of thinking where you are happy when things are going well, and get upset when you don't get your way. You see things differently when you remember that underneath, everything is actually connected with Ki, and we don't have to get upset with every little change.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN

Aikido takes years and years to master. People wonder how long it will take to learn to ''defend themselves'' using Aikido. What can students learn in the dojo that they can apply immediately to daily life?

The fundamental purpose of Aikido is not to learn techniques, but to learn how to unify mind and body. If cannot control your mind, how can you control your body? If you apply Ki principles correctly you can easily do Aikido. The reason that Aikido takes time to learn is that we forget to apply the principles. We also have bad habits to overcome. I don't easily give out black belts because people must learn to unify mind and body to some extent before they are ready for a promotion. You might be able to fool other people, but you know what you have and have not done. There is no such thing as a perfect crime because you cannot fool the universe. People think they can get away with violating the laws of nature, but as you say, ''what goes around comes around.'' One of the bad habits of my youth was heavy drinking. I was young and strong enough that I thought I could get away with it, but the excesses eventually catch up with you. My doctor says a glass of wine a day is good for health, so I still enjoy that, but excessive alcohol can ruin your health. Many young people today think they can abuse or neglect their body without any consequences. Time will always tell.

Lack of respect is a big problem in schools and families today.

Can you explain the term ma-ai, and how it relates to respect in human relations?

In martial arts, ma-ai is a safe distance at which an attacker cannot easily reach you with hand or foot. I found that many people too easily enter into another's space, putting themselves at risk, even policemen who should know better. If you stand at the proper distance, you still have time to avoid an attack or disarm the attacker. But if you stand too close you cannot even defend yourself from a baby scratching your face. In daily life, maintaining ma-ai means not to wound or injure another person, in word or deed. Though you might be on good terms with your neighbour now, if you remove the fence between you it can cause conflicts. Good fences make good neighbours. Ma-ai means respecting the space and property of others. However, if you forget the mind and only follow form, all you have is an empty ritual. Students should show respect to teachers by looking for the best thing they can learn from that person. Everyone has something to offer. However, most people tend to look for the negative points and are quick to criticize, showing no respect. People today think ME first, and forget the other person. This is a fundamental mistake. Mutual respect is the only way.

You say that Americans are very good at asking why, yet don't practice; and Japanese are very good at practicing, yet don't question. How can we have the best of both?

I haven't spent much time in America recently so I can't say if it has changed, but Japanese have definitely gotten worse. They still don't ask why, but now they don't practice either. In the past they worked very hard, but now Japanese have become very lazy. They expect to have things done for them. There was a book published years ago comparing the Japanese and the Jews, because of how hard they worked and their success in business. In Europe I was told that there was one group in the world that was widely disliked. Who? The Japanese! Not surprising when you look at the remarks of our politicians, who seem to be working more for themselves than for the people they are supposed to represent.

Many things today are impossible to understand or operate without a manual, however many young Japanese are so dependent on manuals that they cannot think or make decisions without them. How do you teach people to apply rules flexibly?

Only the fundamentals should be written in a manual. You don't need too much explanation, just clear directions on how to do something. People who are more interested in explaining than doing are often unable to teach someone how to do a simple task. I heard a story of some people in Maui who were told to drive some nails into the supports to anchor a pillar in place. They did as they were told, but as no one had showed them how, the pillar fell right over after they were finished. The nails hadn't reached the other side! The most important thing in training is to make people do it. We learn best by doing, not by the book.

MARTIAL ARTS IN SOCIETY

Japan's population is aging rapidly, as is that of other advanced industrialized nations. What kind of future will this create for us, and what can we best do to prepare?

The best thing to prepare for the future is to not get sick. There is no better investment than to maintain your health and mental clarity. Too many people today are going senile in their 50s and 60s, shortly after retirement. This comes from living a passive and sedentary life. Yet you also see much older people who are still working every day, whether in the garden or in the community. The Chinese character for ''to work'' (hataraku) is written with symbols that mean ''a moving person.'' We must keep moving, or else as you say, ''use it or lose it.'' If you are too passive and expect to be taken care of, you may find yourself in a situation where you do need to be taken care of. People celebrate when a person reaches his or her 100th birthday, but why don't they emulate the way that person lived to reach a hundred? The government is trying to build more facilities for older people. This is the wrong idea. Older people should be encouraged to work and to volunteer to stay active. The problem is that people don't like working if they don't get paid for it. Who needs money if what you do helps yourself and is also for the good of others? Everyone can do something to help others. Everyone is good at something. To work is natural. Young people should develop more self-discipline, or they will end up sick and senile before their time.

Two problems plaguing society today are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). They are commonly treated with drugs. Is there a better solution?

It is a big mistake to treat these problems with drugs. It only hides the symptoms and allows the problem to get worse where you can't see it. The reason for fatigue and distraction is that something in their mental attitude or physical habits is going against nature. Forcing yourself to act unnaturally will quite naturally lead to fatigue. You can't fix the problem with an artificial means like a drug. This only makes it worse. The reason kids can't concentrate is that parents and teachers don't know how to teach them to do so, or they can't concentrate themselves! Lack of discipline leads to further problems, which get harder to fix if let go too long.

There is an increasing interest in wellness and prevention among doctors, and alternatives to drugs and surgery in medicine. Yet doctors are busy professionals, and have little time to study these approaches, much less tell which ones are worth studying. What can we do to gain recognition among doctors and health professionals about the benefits of Ki and Kiatsu for health?

If a person is too busy to do something important, they first need to learn how to relax. In fact they are not as busy as they think. They just make themselves feel, act, and look busy. One such person spent 20 minutes telling me how busy he was, and in that time he filled half an ashtray smoking one cigarette after another. I told him if he has that much time to smoke, he must have time for more important things. People lose the sense of what is important. If even the doctor is under so much stress that he cannot sleep without taking pills at night, then it is definitely time to take a look at alternative approaches to health!

A major problem in America today is litigation, people suing others for real or imagined grievances, and it is big business for lawyers. Martial arts dojos are not immune, and insurance does not offer full protection. How can you protect yourself if you get sued?

First of all, if the instructor maintains full presence of mind while teaching, most or all dojo accidents can be avoided. If the relationship with the students is good they will not sue. I also recommend that my instructors learn Kiatsu. If a student does get injured, and the instructor shows the proper care, and then heals the problem with Kiatsu as well, the student will never sue. Legal problems are often the surface expression of problems that run deeper. I've heard of people who were wrongly sued in professional life, and then able to win the case through a combination of a clear conscience and a sense of integrity under pressure.

Violence has always been a part of our society, but recently it has become a real threat in schools, with guns in the hands of even children under 10. What can parents and teachers do to protect their children and themselves?

First of all, you are asking for serious trouble if you make it easy for people to buy a gun, and leave guns where kids can easily get to them. The biggest benefit of training for kids is self-control and self-discipline. There is nothing more dangerous than a kid with a temper. Even the Japanese yakuza (mafia) will seldom inflict injury on another, even if they threaten it, because they know enough from experience to consider consequences. Kids don't consider consequences, and if they get out of control, and lose their temper they are liable to do anything. It is best if kids and parents train together, so that everyone understands the importance of mutual respect.

CRIME & JUSTICE

What do you think of the movie genres of Westerns and the Samurai film?

I like them because they are easy to understand, a form of pure entertainment, a good show. In the old Samurai films you know the good guys from the bad guys, unlike a lot of modern films where the plot is unclear, the bad guy wins, and people get away with crimes without any consequences. I also enjoy watching samurai films for the same reason as I enjoy watching Kabuki. You can tell at a glance if the person has mind and body unified, and it is a beautiful and exciting thing to watch if they do. If they don't, I change the channel. I used to watch Westerns in the past, but not now. The recent ones have implausible plots and unconvincing characters. The bad guy who is tied up suddenly escapes without effort. The hero wins on his good looks!

You have taught Ki-Aikido to police, FBI, and Secret Service personnel. How did you teach them to calm down or restrain a dangerous person, or someone who is on drugs and out of control?

If a person is dangerous, on drugs and out of control, the only thing to do is forcibly arrest them. They are temporarily out of their mind, so it makes no sense to talk about respecting their human rights. If they are putting others at risk they must be restrained, and then dealt with after they return to their senses.

The eyes as a window to the soul.

In a portrait masterpiece such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the eyes seem to follow you or cover you as you move around the room. I have noticed this with your photograph in the dojo as well. How do you develop such a broad field of vision?

That is only natural, as our eyes reflect what they see. When you stare at something you put tension in your face and narrow your focus. Soft eyes take in everything. It's nothing special, just a natural result of seeing relaxed. In sports people get the wrong idea when they are told to ''keep their eye on the ball.'' That's a good way to miss it. When you relax your eyes you can see more broadly, and your body does the rest.

You talk about the importance of reading rapidly and broadly to develop mental flexibility. Can you explain how to do this?

Of course it is a good idea to do this, and a fundamental skill you should learn in school. The problem now is that there are more books than ever before, but not many that are worth reading. In fact, if you read every word most books are a serious waste of time. Speed-reading, or scanning the pages with soft eyes is a good way to quickly absorb the content. If it is really worthwhile you can go back and read it again to absorb what you need.

How can a person learn to stop smoking or lose weight?

I teach a method I learned from my teacher Tempu Nakamura, described in detail in my book, Ki in Daily Life. The basic idea is to use a mirror to give yourself a strong affirmation before going to sleep. This sinks into your subconscious and works while you sleep as well as during the day to help you overcome a bad habit or form a good one. Many people try using affirmations unsuccessfully because they use the words ''I amc'' without subconsciously believing it. It is better to look in the mirror and command yourself as though you were speaking to another, ''You arec'' To be successful you must also persist in using this technique, not just give up after one or two tries. It takes time to change a subconscious habit that has formed over years. You should do this every night before going to bed, and then go right to bed without any other distractions. Tell yourself in the mirror, ''You hate tobacco!'' Gradually this thought comes to mind whenever you reach for a cigarette, and in time you lose interest. It is important to focus on changing one habit at a time. To correct a long-standing habit might take 6 months, but often less. As long as you like something you will not find it easy to break the habit. Gradually you get better at self-control, and can fix a bad habit more quickly, even on the spot. Temptations will not lead you around so easily against your will. I had smoked for years, but when I decided to quit, I convinced myself I really didn't like it, then it was easy to stop smoking. The same approach works for other habits as well.

BUDO AND THE PERFORMING ARTS

You have compared Budo as martial art to Budo as dance. What do the martial arts and dance have in common? Why are some people photogenic from any angle?

Traditionally in Japan, dance and the martial arts considered to be one. The character is written differently, but pronunciation is same, budo. A master dancer or actor fills the stage with Ki presence. He doesn't look at the audience, because he is completely engaged in becoming the part. Totally involved in the role he forgets his ordinary self, and the audience is captivated. You can only do this if you unify mind and body. When you extend Ki you are photogenic from any angle. It is the visual equivalent of having no opening to attack.

What is the difference between sports and martial arts?

The Chinese Master Sun Tzu, who wrote the classic the Art of War, talked of three kinds of winning. The inferior way is to win by fighting, while the superior way is win without fighting. Many sports have gone down the path of winning by fighting. They pay lip service to sportsmanship, yet inside they believe that winning is more important than how you play the game. Some martial arts are also practiced like sports without sportsmanship. The superior way is to win without fighting. The real meaning of the character for Bu is ''to stop the spear,'' to win hands down, without contest. As I explained, this is the approach that we take in the Taigi Competition, and it can also work in daily life. We must look at the fundamentals, and not practice just for show.

Do you need to get a high rank in Aikido in order to perform with Ki in other fields such as music, the performing arts, or business? How should you practice so as to be able to perform well under pressure?

Unifying mind and body works in theater and dance, and in all of the performing arts. People have performance problems when they practice with a careless attitude, and then expect to perform at their best. I once met a master of the traditional Japanese flute, Hyakunosuke Fukuhara, who asked me to teach him how to unify mind and body when doing a performance. I asked him to hold the flute as if he were performing, and when I unexpectedly tested him he fell right over. He asked to try again, and this time seriously put himself in the frame of mind of the performer on stage, even though he had no actual flute in his hands. This time he passed the test, and was a stable as tree. He already knew how to unify mind and body, but could only do it when he was serious about practice or performance. A real master is one who can do this anytime. Your stage performance is really a reflection of your daily practice. This is why I teach my students to treat a wooden sword as if it were sharp real sword. If you practice this way, then even if your opponent holds a real sword, you will be able to face it as calmly as if it were a wooden sword.

BARRIERS & OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARNING KI

Many people who would like to come to Japan and study Ki-Aikido or Kiatsu at headquarters simply cannot afford the time and expense to take 2 years out of their career, move to Japan, and learn the language. What alternatives do they have if there is no dojo nearby?

There are many Ki Society dojos around the world. We are also developing a home study course with video, whereby people can learn at home or with a group of friends. They can then come to headquarters just twice a year for a 4-day seminar to check their progress. Though this approach may take more time than an intensive residential study, we have found that for a serious student the amount of time is not the most important element in progress. Even before the days of video, I remember a group of 5 students who would get together and train using my book as a guide. They would take turns, with one person reading how to do the technique step-by-step, while the other 4 practiced in two pairs. When I saw them I was surprised at how well they were doing it, even without the benefit of a teacher! The most important thing is a strong desire to learn, a good set of teaching materials, and an opportunity to have a more senior person check your progress on some regular basis. Even under less than ideal circumstances, it is possible to make more progress than someone who is around it every day, but lacks the proper attitude to learn.

Some people in the West resist doing Aikido or other martial arts training because they think it might go against their religious beliefs. Aikido has been influenced by Shinto as well as Buddhism. Does a person need to maintain any such beliefs to practice Aikido?

Bowing is an oriental custom. It's original meaning is to show respect. We are not worshiping idols or practicing a cult religion. We bow to the painted character Ki in the front of the dojo simply because it represents our respect for the universe. We then bow to the instructor and to each other for the same reason. The symbol isn't important. You salute the flag to show respect to God and country, and to your fellow man. It is not a limited form of respect, which is reserved for one and not for another. The important thing is to show respect for universal life in all its forms.

BRIDGING THE GENERATION GAP

As you prepare your son to carry on your work, what are the similarities and the differences in the challenges he will face compared to what you faced at his age?

My son Shinichi has the advantage of being able to start by standing on my shoulders. He doesn't have to figure it out from scratch, or piece it together as I had to from this person or that. Another difference is that when I was his age Japan was at war. Nothing was handed to you. You had to fend for yourself. Nothing could be obtained without effort, including in your training.

On the other hand nothing was clearly explained, and there were many meaningless traces of tradition to mislead you. In his generation everything has been handed to them, with no need to struggle. However, if he has the same level of motivation, it is possible for him to accomplish in 5 years what it took me 20 years to do, simply because the teaching has been refined to a high level. There is much less need for trial-and-error, no need to pursue so many false leads in training.

WAKA SENSEI (Shinichi Tohei Sensei)

Waka Sensei, what do you see as your biggest challenges ahead in carrying on your father's work?

Waka Sensei: I think one of my biggest challenges is to develop the strong initiative that my generation lacks because we were everything was done for us. It is true that the path has been cleared, but because we did not do the clearing ourselves we tend to lack the motivation needed to actually travel down the path. My generation is the generation that will carry Japan through the first half of the 21st Century. Yet we have grown lazy and dependent on machines and electronic devices. We have many choices, but little focus. Like my father, I have to find ways to get people interested in training, to teach them to unify mind and body and face the challenges ahead. We have a saying, ''Fueki Ryuko,'' which means that life is changeless in the fundamentals but always changing on the surface. How we deal with this, to preserve the fundamental truths while living in a changing world, this is the same challenge we face in teaching. Because of its roots in Japanese culture, Ki-Aikido gives us a chance to rediscover the meaning of important Japanese customs that are being lost, and to keep what is worth preserving.

You say that many traditional words and concepts in Japan no longer make sense to the younger generation. Language and values change, but how do you bridge the generation gap in teaching Ki?

Waka Sensei: My father was born in Japan in 1920. It was a very different world from today, and many of the words and expressions used by the generation born before the war are no longer taught or understood today. Our language itself has changed. Many of the younger generation have never heard of ideas that come from the Chinese classics, and this sometimes makes it difficult to teach. For this reason I am working with my father to find new ways of expressing these ideas, new words and examples that make sense to my generation, but are still consistent with the fundamental truths.

Computers have helped create a boom in the martial arts for two reasons: the rapid spread of information and communication over the Internet; and what is called techno-stress, the need to balance mind and body. What would you hope this website can do to help people in the martial arts?

Waka Sensei: Electronic devices have made our lives more convenient, but also caused us to be more sedentary and dependent on convenience. Ki-Aikido can help us restore the balance of mind and body, and remain fit and healthy our whole life. The Internet makes it possible for us to communicate instantly with people all over the world. This is a good thing, and we hope that it can bring the benefits of Ki-Aikido to people who otherwise might never hear of them. The Ki Society is still developing information for our own website in English, but in addition to Tohei Sensei's books, many of the Ki Society member dojos overseas also have websites in English where you can find more information.

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